Mail-carrier&#39;s wagon.



No. 678,074. Patented July 9, I901.

G. A. TOWN.

MAIL CABRIERS WAGON.

(Application filed Kay 8, 1901.)

(No Model.)

2 Shaets- Shoet I.

WITNESSES: '\/c-:

FITDFX No. 573,014 P atonted July 9. I901.

& A. town. RAIL GABRIERS WAGON. fi ppfinttioni am m a, 1901.

(no model.) 2 Sheets-Shoot z;

\ llllllllllllllllm Hlllllll IHIIIIIIIIIQ] I I NITED ST TES- PATENT" OFF CE.

GEORGE A. TOWN,- OF ER MiN AM, MASSACHUSETTS.

M'AIL-CARRIIIQERS WAGON.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of L'etters Batent No. 678,074, dated July ,9, 1901.

Application and M... a, mousse a. 58,892. on) model.)

To all whom it may concern: A I Be it known that I, GEORGE A.TowN,a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Framingham, in the county of 'Middlesex and State. of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Mail-Carriers. Wagons, of which the following isa specification. This invention relates to wagons of the style adapted for the use of letter-carriers or mail-carriers in the collection of mail-matter or, if desired, in the delivery of the same.

Letter-carriers wagons as at present constructed are of the two-wheeled type, as that style of wagon is not only economical, but is easily and quickly operated in a limited space.

Such wagons as at present constructed are extremely severe on the horse,not only on account of the inequalities of the road-bed,

perhaps a hundred times in a day,with the result that Very few horses can standvbeing. used for this kind of service for any great" length of time. Moreover, the jar and shake to the rider are severe and exhausting, especially over rough country-roads, and particularly in View of the fact that it is almost impossible for the wagon to be properly balanced. This improvement applies to that style of letter-carriers wagons which have a cover or top as a protection from the'weathen.

Withsuch covered letter-carriers wagons which are now in use as far as I am aware it is impossible for the letter-carrier to stand at the rear of the wagon and from such position remove or sort any letters which are inside the wagon, usually in a bag or pouchhanging therein, without exposure to the weather, and in case of heavy rains such exposure becomes necessary many times in the course of a. trip over the route. Provision is madein thisinvention whereby the carrier can stand, under the ordinary cover or top of his wagon and easily reach the bag or pouch .which hangs near the front of the wagon and do any sorting necessary and be fully protected from rain or snow. The same construction which affords the carrier such stand- 'ing-s'pace serves also to enable him to step into the wagon at such a point that the shock of the first step will be directly over the shaft. There are other advantages in this inventionwhich will be understood by reference to the specification and drawings, and the nature of the invention consists of the construction below described, and illustrated in said drawings, in which Figure-1 is a view in side elevation of a letter-carriers wagon embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on Fig. 3 is a front elevation.

line K, Fig. 1.

Fig. '4. is a rear elevation. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail showing one of the forward springs in front elevation and one of the shafts in vertical section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre= spondirig parts.

The two'wheels a of this wagon are connected by a'dropped axle b, upon which rest ordinary side elliptical springs'c, which are the main support of the carriage-body.

d d are the jordinaryshafts.

' A represents the front wall of the carriage body, the lower portion of which is preferably paneled, as shown. is provided with windows A, preferably two The upper portion in number, andwith openings A", set high up, as shown, through which the reins may extend to the occupant of the wagon.

. B B'repre'sent the side walls, having their lower portions paneled and provided with windows B in their upper portions corresponding with the windowsA.

C is the top, preferably curved upward centrally, as shown.

D is-the bottom, dropped below the lower edges of the front and sides and connected by the flaring sides D with the front, sides, and

back of the body.

E represents the back of the body, suitably paneled at its lower portion and with its upper portion provided with windows E. This .The rear flaring wall D of the dropped bottom extends up to and is joined to the lower edge of the rear wall E, but-is cut away-vertically under the door, thus providing avertical passage or opening H of the same width. as-the door and directly under it. Ektending from this passage H rearward is acurved' opening H, formed in the bottom D. The rear side of the front wall A is provided'with suitable hooks I, from which mail bags or pouches can be hung. Extending from the inner surfaces of the two side walls B are. pairs of eyes or staples-J, adapteditowreceiive': suitable pins extendingi downfI'OIIl-i seat K, which can'be-supportedibypany suitable: means, such; as swinging leg,z,(i ndicatedi by dotted lines K,) restin-gyon the 1 fl'oorr. Thisseat therefore can be transferred* fromi.

one side to the otheriof the-interiore-off the wagon to suit-the occupant. COI'HQIShOlVQSt L are secured within the. wagon 'inzxthe posi tions indicated in Fig. 2. The ffOIIt PLOI'lJ'lOHt of the under side of thebodyhasasecuredztor it next its opposite side edges at Ritheaupper ends of two springsP, the lower ends ofisaid springs-bein g adj ustably secured tothrershaftsad by meansof suitable boltsR andrnuts Bil.

(See Figs; 1 and 5.) Thesespringssareaare ranged vertically, as shown, andfealcli cone sists-of'a flat'spring-bar-of metal formed into: reverse folds, doubling. withoutwcontaeta inr reverse directions, the folds OX' CDHVOI'UIiOHSi being of S; shape. Theedges-of thespiri'ng face the sides of the wagon, andratsPPther spring-bar is bent at right angles; so thatxone of its-broad surfaces faces thewsidesr of the: wagon, the end portion a P" being provided with a number of holes: P, whereby thev spring can be raised or lowered as-desired- :tO- suitthe height of the shafts.-

In practical ope-ration when the-wletterwara f rier enters his wagon h9 S\VlIIg S'-l open] the? doors-FF, steps into therecesssH, anrl 'the'n steps upon the floor D, which iisavery low; his foot first stepping naturally directlyoVe-rrthe axle b, so that his whole weight is over the 'axles and does not shake the shafts-and jari'th'e horse.- In order tostill further protect the horsein casethe footof ithecarriershouldsba a little in front of or at therearofth-eaxle,

the peculiarly-shaped springs-P tenditorneue tralize the slight shock or jar wlrichrln-ight otherwise occur. \Vhen the 'rid'ersitseimhis wagon on. the seat K, be is-also directlyzoverr the axle. Hence whether he=leaves; entersy, or sits in the wagon the jar communicatedto the horse is very slight. The springsPrare also a verygreat. ad vantage in: cooperating with the springssc in absorbingthe-vibrationt which. would otherwise be communicated to the occupant by reason ofa rough iIOELd orofii the movements ofthe horse. It will be seenr that these springs are located at the extreme h'orse'and forthe occupant.

front edge of the wagon, where they will be of thegreatest use and where springs of sufficient delicacy can be applied to absorb and neutralize even very small jars or shakes produced by the horse or the road-bed, thus rendering the Wagon exceedingly easy on the The recess H is of such a depth that the carrier can easily ;stand in it and reach for the contents of his mail-bags, which hang on the hooks I, -an'd'even do a little sorting, if necessary, or 'hezcan readily reach any of the shelves L. Moreover, when standing in this recess he iis directly-underthe top 0 and is protected from the weatherwithout the necessity of any awnings or overhead projections. While tstandingthere, the' doors FFF. can be closed, tand th'us protectionibe affordedlfromzwindor ;drivin:g:rairr,1 the Y only? place. through which Ethe rain; couldfenter' being. the space under ith'ej'doorsgand this-space couldof course be leasilyiprot'ected bycanyordinary rubberapron cr -flap: The: seat Kl may *be'duplicated on ithe rotheriside; or one se'at onlyvinay b'eused ianditransferred: froin side to side to suit the zoccup'anti Itwill .ofrcourse be understood that the only gaccessto the wagon is. through therear doors. Light; .however; has access from'all sides, as ithe entirezsupper'portionof the wagon is pro {vided Withzwindous: i Tllhearran'gem'entsof the springs, the shape iands locatiorrof the z springs -19, the recessed Idroppedb'ottonr; and the location 'of the seats aterrdi; not 0111]"" ad (1'; to thecomfort 10f the" :ri'der an'd'the horse; but also toprolongthe'life ofrthe' vehicle; which; .it may beadded, .pre :sentsraigoodand business ilike appearance on v the"; roa'd' and; is:-: exceedingly convenient; as zhasrbeenprovedfibyactual use by'the-appli cant inwthe UnitedStates mail-service;

Havingthus-firllyxdescribedmy inven tion what [I iclaim and "desire to securerbyllietters Patenmeiss- 1i. Imaf carriage ori wagon "ofith'e character described; the carri'age bod ycom prising the ifron tiwall :A'; side .wallsB, and rear wall i E; iandfitheidroppedibbttom comprisingthe fioor D and sidessDl' D." con-necting:said floorwithf the rfourrwallsraforesaid', .the'rear connecting side'beinggprovide-d withsthe vertical passage iorzropeningiflg. and: th'efb'ottoln being formed fwithutheirecessor openingzH" extending for? wardfrom th'e rear'edge and "connecting witlr said-ipassage H, substantially as setfo nth;-

2i= .Ima icarriage or'wagon' of "the character. described; the carriage-body comprising :the ifronitwall A; side :walls -13, and rear Wall E; %the drop;p;ed:- bottom comprising the floor D land sides DDl connectin'g'said floor with the fourwa-lls aforesaid, thenrear connectingflside 'b'e-i'ngrprovi'ded with thevertical passage or opienii-ngl-L and thebottom beingformed with the-:5 recessorsopenin'g H extending forward ffrom \the'rear edge and connecting with said passage-'11; and doors-as- F hung in the rear wall of the carriage-body directly over the passage H, whereby a'c'ontinuous opening is seat K removably secured to one of the side provided for admission into the wagon when Walls of the body directly over the axle; and the doors are opened by means of the door hooks I secured to the inner surface of one of I 5 space and passage, substantially as described. the walls for letter bags or pouches, substan- 3. In a carriage or wagon of the character tially as set forth. described, the closed body comprising the In testimony whereof I have signed my front, side and rear Walls A, B and E glazed name to this specification in the presence of at their upper portions, and top or roof 0; two subscribing witnesses. the dropped bottom D connected by the fiar GEORGE A. TOWN.

ing sides D D with the body, said bottom Witnesses: and its rear flaring side being formed with HENRY W. WILLIAMS, the recess and passage H, H; the swinging A. N. BONNEY. 

